Probably the main reason to buy Spintires: MudRunner if you already owned the wonderful original is the prospect of ongoing support, of what the game might become under the stewardship of publishers who aren’t publicly feuding with the game’s creator. Today saw the release of a new update expanding the muddy drive ’em up’s Steam Workshop to support maps too, making it easier to download and play other players’ creations. Another free content update will follow, and work has also begun on some American mud. (more…)
We’ve hit the mid-point of the week and the see-saw of time is about to tip forward and hurtle us towards the weekend at an alarming rate. Perhaps more ominously, we will also be hurtling towards the litany of PC gaming Black Friday deals that are headed our way in a fortnight’s time.
Before then, however, the deals aren’t slowing down one bit and there’s another big batch of digital deals to check out right here, right now. Everything from this week’s release of Nioh to Cities Skylines and even the absolute gem that is Jagged Alliance 2 is represented across a variety of sites, so consider this a convenient mid-week digital deals roundup if you like. Let’s get to it, shall we?
A hundred Halloween horrors start this way: driving through the wilds, a vehicle becomes stuck and its driver faces a harrowing ordeal. Will they escape and live to see another dawn or will they be found in a shallow grave? A hundred Halloween horrors may start this way but few are nearly as tense and trying as Spintires: MudRunner, which launched overnight. It’s an expanded re-release of 2014’s fantastic driving-through-mud simulator Spintires, which comes fancied up a little but most importantly freed from the troubled relationship with previous publishers Oovee. MudRunner is a separate paid release, not a free upgrade, though Spintires owners do get a discount. (more…)
I love everything about Spintires. I love the mud and the trucks and the way that the game takes what is a slightly silly premise so seriously. The semi-sequel, updated version, Spintires: MudRunner is due out on October 31, but in the meantime, why not watch this needlessly dramatic trailer?
I feel more rugged just listening to this man—let’s assume that he’s the chap inside all of the big trucks and jeeps you’re controlling—detailing just how important and epic driving through the dirt is.
This new edition offers updated graphics, five new environments, a challenge mode and 13 extra vehicles, on top of everything that comes with the vanilla game. There’s also a 50% discount for owners of the original. Without the discount, it will set you back $30/£25/€30.
Spintires is one of those games that you either really dig, or completely don't. It's about driving big, Soviet-era trucks through thick, Soviet-era mud—not racing or in pursuit of any grand quest, but just grinding through it however you can. Despite its obviously (very) niche appeal it was quite a success, but a fallout between the developer and publisher led to controversy, and even a temporary removal from Steam.
That was all eventually smoothed over, and the game is now back on Steam. Not only that, but a new version called Spintires: Mudrunner is on the way as well. The "ultimate version" of Spintires will feature a "total graphical overhaul," a new sandbox map alongside the five environments in the original game, a challenge mode with nine dedicated maps, and 13 new vehicles, taking the total to 19. And happily, development is once again being headed up by Pavel Zagrebelny, the creator of the original game.
So the core game sounds essentially unchanged, but that's not necessarily a bad approach to take. Spintires isn't the sort of game that's ever going to become a mainstream hit, but it's held onto its audience remarkably well: Its average concurrent user count in July 2014 was 1,239, and its average concurrent user count last month—July 2017—was 1,124.
Spintires: Mudrunner is available for pre-purchase now on Steam for ten percent off its regular $30/£25/€30 price, with another 50 percent off for owners of the original. It's expected to be ready for release in October.
Back in 2014, the RPS treehouse shook with everyone thundering around pretending to be trucks stuck in squelching mud. Such was the captivating magic of Spintires, a serious simulation of simply trying to drive across rough Russian terrain. But ongoing development got bogged down by a drawn-out spat between developer Pavel Zagrebelny and publishers Oovee Game Studio, and Spintires seemed to be left to rust in the cybermud. Well! In a surprising and confusing twist, Spintires is back with a new edition coming from another studio and a different publisher (update: with Zagrebelny still leading it)>. Focus Home Interactive today announced Spintires: MudRunner [official site], an enhanced and expanded edition of Spintires coming in October. (more…)
